Frederick Brant Rentschler
Encyclopedia
Frederick Brant Rentschler (November 8, 1887 – April 25, 1956) was an American
aircraft engine
designer, aviation engineer, and industrialist. A talented inventor of aviation equipment, Rentschler founded Pratt & Whitney Aircraft
. which created and manufactured many revolutionary aircraft engines, including those used in the aircraft of Charles Lindbergh
, Amelia Earhart
and James Doolittle
. His is also the co-founder of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
, the predecessor of United Technologies Corporation
.
to German-Americans George A. Rentschler and Phoebe Schwab, whose family owned the Republic Motor Car Co. that built Republic cars from 1910 until 1916. They were also principals in Hooven-Owens-Rentschler
. His brother Gordon S. Rentschler
would become Chairman of National City Bank
.
He graduated from Princeton University
in 1909 and worked in his family's businesses as a molder and machinist. When the U.S. entered World War I
in 1917, he joined the United States Army
. As a First Lieutenant
and later Captain, he was assigned to inspect Hispano-Suiza
aircraft engines manufactured under French
license at the Wright-Martin
plant in New Brunswick, New Jersey
The armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the contract and caused the reorganization of Wright-Martin.
Rentschler became president of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and pressed for research into his idea. Unable to convince his board of directors, largely composed of investment bankers with little aviation knowledge, he resigned in 1924, and supported by old friend and Wright chief engineer George J. Mead
, he developed a proposal for a high-powered air-cooled aircraft engine for the U.S. Navy. Admiral
William A. Moffett
promised to approve the purchase of such an engine.
of Hartford, Connecticut
with his idea. On July 23, 1925, they agreed to fund its development, creating the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
in which Rentschler and Mead had a controlling position.
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft's first engine, completed on Christmas Eve 1925, was named the Wasp by Faye Belden Rentschler, whom Frederick had married July 25, 1921. The 425 hp Wasp easily passed its official qualification test in March 1926 and the Navy ordered 200 engines. The speed, climb performance, and reliability that the engine offered revolutionized American aviation. Over the next twenty years, from the original Wasp design the Pratt & Whitney Wasp series developed, approaching ten times the power of the 1925 engine.
In 1929, Rentschler ended his association with Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Company, but was allowed to keep the name Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company. Rentschler, Vought
and Boeing
formed the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
. United Aircraft completed the first coast-to-coast passenger network in March of that year.
In 1934, UATC was broken up, and its manufacturing interests east of the Mississippi River
became United Aircraft Corporation
, headquartered in Hartford with Rentschler as president.
Rentschler turned to developing jet engine
s after World War II
. Pratt & Whitney produced the J57 jet engine in 1953. The engine was used to power the first B-52 Stratofortress
in 1954.
Rentschler remained as president of United Aircraft until his death on April 25, 1956 in Boca Raton, Florida
. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Hartford.
“for his contribution to the progress of aeronautical science".
In 1958, the United States Air Force presented him with the Civilian Service Award for Exceptional Service as a pioneer in the development, research and manufacture of aircraft engines.
, was named Rentschler Field
in his honor. The airfield was decommissioned in 1995, and the land it was on was donated to the state of Connecticut in 1999. A stadium, also called Rentschler Field, was built on the site and opened in 2003 as the home field for the University of Connecticut
football team
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
designer, aviation engineer, and industrialist. A talented inventor of aviation equipment, Rentschler founded Pratt & Whitney Aircraft
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
. which created and manufactured many revolutionary aircraft engines, including those used in the aircraft of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
and James Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
. His is also the co-founder of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
, the predecessor of United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut...
.
Early life
Rentschler was born on November 8, 1887 in Hamilton, OhioHamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....
to German-Americans George A. Rentschler and Phoebe Schwab, whose family owned the Republic Motor Car Co. that built Republic cars from 1910 until 1916. They were also principals in Hooven-Owens-Rentschler
Hooven-Owens-Rentschler
The firm of Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company manufactured steam and diesel engines in Hamilton, Ohio. Because the firm was frequently known by its initials, H.O.R., the Hooven is sometimes incorrectly rendered as Hoover, and the Owens may be mistaken for Owen.The firm was the successor to the...
. His brother Gordon S. Rentschler
Gordon S. Rentschler
Gordon Sohn Rentschler was a chairman of First National City Bank, a predecessor of Citigroup.He was born in Hamilton, Ohio. His father was George A. Rentschler one of the principals of the Hooven-Owens-Rentschler engine manufacturer. One of his daughters was married to Dean G. Witter...
would become Chairman of National City Bank
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
.
He graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1909 and worked in his family's businesses as a molder and machinist. When the U.S. entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917, he joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. As a First Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and later Captain, he was assigned to inspect Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza was a Spanish automotive and engineering firm, best known for its luxury cars and aviation engines in the pre-World War II period of the twentieth century. In 1923, its French subsidiary became a semi-autonomous partnership with the parent company and is now part of the French SAFRAN...
aircraft engines manufactured under French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
license at the Wright-Martin
Wright-Martin
Wright-Martin was a short-lived aircraft manufacturing business venture between the Wright Company and Glenn L. Martin....
plant in New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
The armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the contract and caused the reorganization of Wright-Martin.
Aviator and engineer
Rentschler left the Army convinced that future aircraft would require lighter-weight engines with much greater power and higher reliability. His proposed design of an air-cooled engine flew in the face of conventional wisdom, which held that heavier liquid-cooled engines would power the future of aviation.Rentschler became president of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and pressed for research into his idea. Unable to convince his board of directors, largely composed of investment bankers with little aviation knowledge, he resigned in 1924, and supported by old friend and Wright chief engineer George J. Mead
George J. Mead
George Jackson Mead was an American aircraft engineer. He is best known as one of the chief founding team members, together with Frederick Rentschler, of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft...
, he developed a proposal for a high-powered air-cooled aircraft engine for the U.S. Navy. Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
William A. Moffett
William A. Moffett
William Adger Moffett was an American admiral notable as the architect of naval aviation in the United States Navy.-Biography:...
promised to approve the purchase of such an engine.
Corporate executive
Rentschler approached the Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool CompanyPratt & Whitney Measurement Systems
Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems is a multinational corporation that specializes in producing high-precision measuring instruments and systems.-History:...
of Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
with his idea. On July 23, 1925, they agreed to fund its development, creating the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
in which Rentschler and Mead had a controlling position.
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft's first engine, completed on Christmas Eve 1925, was named the Wasp by Faye Belden Rentschler, whom Frederick had married July 25, 1921. The 425 hp Wasp easily passed its official qualification test in March 1926 and the Navy ordered 200 engines. The speed, climb performance, and reliability that the engine offered revolutionized American aviation. Over the next twenty years, from the original Wasp design the Pratt & Whitney Wasp series developed, approaching ten times the power of the 1925 engine.
In 1929, Rentschler ended his association with Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Company, but was allowed to keep the name Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company. Rentschler, Vought
Vought
Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...
and Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
formed the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
. United Aircraft completed the first coast-to-coast passenger network in March of that year.
In 1934, UATC was broken up, and its manufacturing interests east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
became United Aircraft Corporation
United Aircraft
The United Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1934 at the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. In 1975, the company became the United Technologies Corporation.-1930s:...
, headquartered in Hartford with Rentschler as president.
Rentschler turned to developing jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Pratt & Whitney produced the J57 jet engine in 1953. The engine was used to power the first B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
in 1954.
Rentschler remained as president of United Aircraft until his death on April 25, 1956 in Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Hartford.
Awards
In 1951, Rentschler was made an Officer of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
“for his contribution to the progress of aeronautical science".
In 1958, the United States Air Force presented him with the Civilian Service Award for Exceptional Service as a pioneer in the development, research and manufacture of aircraft engines.
Legacy
Pratt & Whitney's former company airfield, located in East Hartford, ConnecticutEast Hartford, Connecticut
East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, was named Rentschler Field
Rentschler Field (airport)
Rentschler Field was an airport in East Hartford, Connecticut in use from 1933 to 1999. Originally a military facility, later a private corporate airport, it was decommissioned in 1999, after which the football stadium of the same name was built on the site....
in his honor. The airfield was decommissioned in 1995, and the land it was on was donated to the state of Connecticut in 1999. A stadium, also called Rentschler Field, was built on the site and opened in 2003 as the home field for the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
football team
Connecticut Huskies football
The Connecticut Huskies football team is a collegiate football team that competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big East Conference. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and...
.
External links
- Time, May 28, 1951
- "Photo Galleries / Celebrities / Frederick Rentschler in front of his Vought 02U Corsair"
- "Chance Vought/LTV History", University of Texas, Dallas